


Changes

by Strange_Hearts



Series: The Harry Potter One Shots [4]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Drama, Other, Slight Harry/Luna interaction
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-06
Updated: 2013-01-06
Packaged: 2017-11-23 21:23:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,872
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/626668
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Strange_Hearts/pseuds/Strange_Hearts
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <b>Lily Potter is thinking about how things have changes from what they were in the books she'd once read, but not everything is okay, and knowing the future doesn't always mean something good will happen to you.</b>
</p>
            </blockquote>





	Changes

**Author's Note:**

> **_Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter._ **

Lily Potter nee Evans was rather glad that there was no one around as she looked at the picture she'd been given by her son of him and his family, as they weren't going to be home for Christmas that year. One would imagine that the frown on her face was do to the fact that her son Harry and his wife wouldn't be coming; they would have been wrong, for Lily's frown had nothing to do with that, and more to do with whom her son's wife was.

Lily sighed as she paced the picture down, thinking about what had led to this point.

It started out years ago – in fact, it started out in her seventh year, when Remus had come to her at the beginning of Christmas break with news about a set of books that James had found – specifically, books about a Harry Potter, who James had said he didn't know. However, based on the small summary that had been given, it seemed that this Harry person had to be a part of James's family – unless to was a muggleborn. Either way, it had interested the three friends – Peter was spending Christmas with his family – and Remus wanted to know if Lily wanted to read with them.

She had thought _what the heck_ and had joined them, only to end up surprised when they discovered that not only was it about her to be son with James – she had always loved the name Harry – but that it also held the keys to defeating Voldemort, something that was desperately needed.

It was after reading the seventh book – which had pretty much ended with Harry going to sleep after finally finishing off Voldemort with an _'Expeliarmus'_ , much to their surprise – that they all wondered what they should do. It didn't take them long to decide on a course of action – getting rid of the horcruxes that were already made, along with any death eater they could, once they graduated – after seeing the fact that death eaters were still allowed out in society had basically made it so that they weren't afraid to kill them like the rabid dogs that they were – while keeping from changing anything that didn't have to do with Voldemort – mainly, the romance that had sprung up between her son and his best friend's sister, as well as the one that had sprung up between both of his best friends.

It did seem to work well – thanks to the knowledge they had, as well as some Potter connections – the prophecy that had ruined her son's life never appeared, Instead, they were able to rid the world of him – and almost every single death eater, including Lucius Malfoy – oh how Sirius had danced after discovering that – all before that Halloween where everything had started.

It was then that things began to go downhill, as far as Lily was able to tell.

First off, Harry and Ron didn't get along as they had in the original timeline, something that puzzled Lily, for he got along just great with Hermione, who he met in Diagon Alley the summer before his first year at Hogwarts. And Lily had tried to get them to become friends first, having arranged several play dates with the Weasleys, which didn't work out like she had originally thought. Harry hadn't become friends with Ron, choosing instead – much to her displeasure – to spend time with the twins and the eldest two, if they were there.

And then there was the fact that Molly Weasley decided to get on her nerves a little too much – the fact that Lily worked as a potion and charms mistress didn't seem to set right with the overbearing woman. Lily had never realized how Molly really was from the books – or, rather, she had chosen to ignore it, as not only did Molly help take care of Harry, but she had also agreed with her when Molly had accused Sirius of thinking Harry was James – she didn't believe that it was possible for Sirius to think otherwise.

And this little snag hadn't changed in their first year of Hogwarts – if anything, if had expanded, for, while Harry ended up in Gryffindor, Ron had ended up in Slytherin for some reason. This did nothing to make Harry like him, as Harry had inherited his father's dislike of Slytherins – well, in truth, Harry didn't hate all Slytherins, just Ron.

After half a year of watching Harry's dislike grow – as the potions teacher, she was at the school year round – Lily had given up on getting them to be friends. _At least Harry is still friends with Hermione_ had been her thought at that time. Of course, she did have hopes that Hermione and Harry just remained friends – it wasn't that she didn't like the bushy-haired girl, but she could only see her son with a certain girl. Plus, she thought Hermione a bit too bossy for her son, despite the fact that she herself was just that way. Harry was too stubborn to be controlled, a trait he had inherited from her.

No, Lily did not want Hermione for a daughter in law, not when there was another girl that Lily thought was perfect for her son. Besides, though she had given up on getting Harry to be friends with Ron, she hadn't quite thought to give up on Hermione getting with Ron, which she hoped would at least curve Harry's hatred of him away.

She didn't bother to notice that, with Harry's friendship with the twins, he also – and, by extension, Hermione – became friends with some of the other third years, in several of the other houses. Most notably, he and Hermione had become friends with Cedric Diggory, a surprising sentiment, as Cedric was in another house, and, in the books, Harry hadn't known who he was until his third year. Of course, the fact that Cedric had hung out with the twins a few times at their house – not often, of course – had meant that Harry had met him much earlier, without her realization.

Then came Harry's second year, and the year in which the girl Lily thought to be perfect for her son entered Hogwarts. However, much to her dismay, Harry didn't show any interest in little Ginevra Weasley, not even giving her so much as a passing glance after her sorting – in which, like her brother, she ended up in Slytherin.

Instead, again, to Lily's dismay, Harry showed an interest in a girl Lily considered to be even worse for her son that Hermione: Luna Lovegood.

Now, she couldn't lie. As sweet as Luna could be, her belief in stupid and untrue things had instantly made Lily hate her. She just couldn't understand why her son showed interest in someone who was obviously not right in the head. It had been a source of many arguments between the mother and son, for Harry refused to allow Luna to be insulted, even by his own mother.

So, as the years had gone by, a chasm had formed between the two, up until sixth year, when Lily was forced to realize that her son, her only child, for she'd never given birth to another, despite how much her and James had tried, was not going to chose someone else. What had made her realize this: the Potter engagement ring that Luna sported after a Christmas party Dumbledore had thrown at the castle.

And she had also learned that it wasn't just Harry who would be with someone else; the year before, she had found out that Hermione and Cedric were together, another surprising fact. She had begun to give up on what she thought should happen after that, though her dislike of her to be daughter-in-law never wavered much.

She sighed, wishing that she knew what had gone wrong. It never occurred to her that the fact that, just because she and the other had tried to keep from interfering about the personal life of Harry didn't mean that they were successful. It didn't occur to her that, perhaps, in her blindness, she missed major factors of Ron and Ginny's personality during the readings. It also didn't occur to her just how happy her son was with his wife, so much more happier than the books made him sound when he was with Ginny.

She looked at the photo again before putting it face down. _Oh well_ she thought, walking away from it. _At least I don't have to pretend to be happy about my son married to that girl this year_.

Perhaps she would try and find ways to limit contact with them. They didn't need her around, after all. Maybe, she could figure out a way to fix what went wrong. As that idea went through her head, she walked off to her lab. The possibilities running through her mind were endless, and, for the first time in a long time, she smiled.

Oh, how much she would love to change what had happened, and she would. She would change it, get everything back on the right track, and have the family that she'd begun to dream about. She would, she would, she would.

* * *

"She's smiling again," Harry said, looking over at his wife with a slightly sad look in his face.

"I noticed," Luna said, looking back at the woman they were talking about. They were standing outside the door to a padded cell, looking at a gray haired woman with dull green eyes and an insane smile.

"Has there been any progress lately," she asked him. He shook his head sadly, and she looked down.

"I'm sorry," she said, feeling as if it was her fault that Lily Potter had been reduced to what she was now.

"Hey, it's not your fault," Harry said.

"But if we hadn't decided to get married," she began.

"Luna, even if we hadn't married, it was only a matter of time before she had a psychotic break," Harry said. "The healers said she'd sustained damage to her mind from the war. She'd tried to function as normal, but, for some odd reason, what was 'normal' in her mind wasn't the real world, and her mind snapped. It had nothing to do with you.

"And, if we hadn't gotten married, then I would be completely miserable, and having to deal with this alone," he continued, wrapping his arms around her. "And, honestly, I'd rather have my mother her and be married to you than have her in the real world and not have you."

Luna smile at him.

"I'd rather be married to you, too," she said.

"Okay, then," Harry said. "Come on – the train should be pulling in anytime, and I don't want the youngsters getting lost and hurt looking for us."

"Oh, you know they won't," Luna said. "You and I both know that Hermione will watch them until we get there."

"Yeah, that's true," Harry said, taking his wife's hand. "They do love their Aunt Mi and Uncle Ced."

"That they do, love, that they do," Luna said. Together, they walked out of the ward, leaving the broken shell that had once been the prideful and stubborn Lily Potter behind.

**Author's Note:**

> **_The End_ **


End file.
